Hugh Jackman and his hulking robotic boxers went for and landed a knockout blow at the box office on Friday.
In its opening debut on Friday, Real Steel punched up $8.6 million in business. That puts the boxing flick on pace to finish the weekend anywhere in the low-to-mid $20 million range with Saturday and Sunday matinees stimulating additional business.
George Clooney’s The Ides of March took second place despite finishing Friday with less than half of Real Steel’s take. With $3.5 million, the political thriller co-starring Clooney and Ryan Gosling is on track to finish its opening weekend somewhere between $10 and $14 million.
Warner’s Dolphin Tale, which won the previous weekend, is finally beginning to show signs of tiring. With $2.4 million on Friday, it is not likely to crack $10 million, but should still finish the weekend in third place.
Rounding out the top five at the box office on Friday were Moneyball with Brad Pitt at $2.2 million, and 50/50 featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt coming in at $1.8 million.
Be sure to stop back Sunday afternoon to see if Real Steel was able to reach the $25 million mark, or if Dolphin Tale caught onto a strong current and swam past The Ides of March for second place.
